National Association of Home Builders Discusses Economics and Housing Policy

Residential Construction Employment Up 9,100 in March

Solid job growth for home builders and remodelers was recorded in March, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The residential construction industry added 9,100 jobs for the month on a seasonally adjusted basis, 3,100 working for builders and 6,000 residential specialty trade contractors.

Total industry employment now stands at 2.242 million, broken down as approximately 650,000 builders and 1.592 million residential contractors. For 2014, the residential building industry has been averaging 10,000 jobs created per month. Over the last year, 103,000 jobs were created, and the home building workforce has gained 257,500 jobs since the post-recession low point set in January 2011.

Over the last year and a half, the share of jobs being created by the sector has outpaced the share of industry employment. For example, in March 2014, industry employment represented 1.63% of total nonfarm jobs. However, residential building was responsible for 4.74% of total jobs created. Home building typically provides an outsized boost to economic growth and job creation as a recession ends. In the last year or two, home building has finally assumed this typical economic role.

Overall, the establishment survey from the BLS indicated that 192,000 jobs were created on a seasonally adjusted basis in March. This was slightly below expectations, but on net a positive indicator for the economy. Previous months reporting was also revised up by 37,000 jobs.

The March data is also consistent with the claim that unseasonably cold weather in much of the U.S. held back economic growth during the end of 2013 and the start of the new year.

The separate household survey reported that the unemployment rate held steady in March at 6.7%. In a positive sign for household formations and housing demand, the labor force participation rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 63.2%. The size of the labor force increased by 503,000 in March.

[…] hiring increased in March. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the residential construction sector added 9,100 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in March. Total industry employment now stands at 2.242 million. And over the last 12 months, builders and […]